Nuclear Med Technician

asharma

1 Apr, 2022

Nuclear Med Technician

  • Associate’s degree from an accredited nuclear medicine technology program

Nuclear Medicine Technologists are responsible for many tasks throughout the work day. A job description for a Nuclear Medicine Technologist may contain the following duties and responsibilities:

  • Explain medical procedures to patients and answer any questions they may have.
  • Follow safety procedures to protect the patients and themselves from unnecessary radiation exposure.
  • Prepare and administer radioactive drugs to patients.
  • Monitor and watch for any unusual reactions patients may have to drugs.
  • Operate imaging equipment.
  • Maintain detailed procedure records.
  • Follow safety and disposal radiation procedures.

Healthcare Team:

The use of nuclear medicine radiotracers in medicine requires close coordination between various professionals, including:

  • The medical physicist – who is often involved in calculating hypothetical radiation doses to a patient and the public
  • The nuclear pharmacist – who plays a role in radiotracer preparation
  • The NM technician – who plays an important role in screening, preparing, and imaging the patient
  • The nuclear medicine physician – who supervises all aspects of nuclear medicine care as well as directing therapy and performing image interpretation
  • Inpatient nurses and the inpatient team – who sometimes play a role in inpatient admissions, such as in the case of admission during treatments and/or complications thereof
  • The referring provider – who often plays a central role in the patient selection and their initial education regarding the role of nuclear medicine in diagnosis and treatment

The involvement of multiple professionals is critical, considering the radiation dose often incurred on the public during the administration of certain radiopharmaceuticals. Close communication between members of the treatment team is critical in relating the amount of radioactivity to be expected, the way to shield workers and the public from radiation exposure, and the way to optimize patient treatment either in the setting of the diagnostic evaluation of disease or in the setting of therapy.